Pop up van

Popup Caravan you mean ? or a Popup campervan , like a Jayco.

New or Used . . .

Budget . . .

On road . . . offroad.

Towed by what ?

Little more info would be helpful.

Lots of reviews in Caravan and Motorhome Magazine. Maybe worth buying a few back issues and do a bit of reading to get some ideas. Also if you are unsure of the life style there are plenty of places who will hire you a motorhome and there are a lot of types and sizes available.

Motorhomes seem to be very popular. I prefer to tow a smallish caravan, which I can set up and leave. I can then take day trips to explore or even run up to the shop to pick up a bottle of milk etc without packing up my transport. Towing may seem a little daunting at first but with modern vehicles and vans it's pretty straight forward if you take it easy.

We have a pop-top 78 sreies Troopy. Great truck and enough room for 2. Wewanted a single unit like yourselves and also wanted to do club 4wd trips. The Troopy is perfect for us.

2 burner gas stove with grill, 40L fridge, 45 litres water, 180 litres fuel, sleeping for 3, etc. Even have the TV and 230VAC inverter now. We tend to carry up to a weeks food plus 20l extra water. Have solar showers, toilet tent, portable toilet seat and carry all our 4wd recovery gear incl a winch. Main problem is only one spare tyre as we do not have the twin spare bracket for the rear. We do carry a second spare tyre, tubes, compressor, tyres levers, etc anyway and take the tyre out at night.

Everything else fits under the seat in the rear or in cupboards except for our clothes - 2 small bags fix that problem plus 2 chairs and a table that live behind the passenger seat..

Stevesub
Grey Nomads
Somewhere in OZ

G'day JOKH
Like Stevesub - I too have a 2001 78 series pop-top troopie. I have had mine for several months now and so far it has been brilliant! It's my second Troopie though so I knew what I was after. For about $20k you wont get one as new as Steve's or mine - but if you look in the camper section of the 4wd trader mags there are usually a few in there.

There are also a few dealers around Australia that specialise in Campers - one in Balina for example.

Most of these vehicles are ex-rental so make sure you do your homework if buying one. I found there to be a huge difference in the quality of similar milage vehicles.

As far as comfort and versatility goes - there are a few +ves and -ves.

Positives:
-very quick and easy to set up/pack up
-highly mobile - no trailers
-plenty of accessories available

Negatives:
-have to pack up to move vehicle - made easy by how easy they are to set up.
-fairly limited in terms of inside space for moving around - if you need to for some reason
-you can't have a normal roof rack

Cheers

Hi John,

we have a toyota Hiace -- it's fantastic.
I found that Max at Ballina Campers is a great help with advice you need http://www.ballinacampers.com.au/

We have only had our camper for a couple of months (we inherited it from my dad) and are still learning, but it is so fantastic to just be able to jump in it and take off. And when you are at the other end, it only takes minutes to get the camp chairs out and grab a cold drink and put your feet up.

We prefer bush camping and thanks to this website we have found some great spots -suitable for 2WD.

One of our early purchases was egg-shell foam to but on top of the fold out bed -- it made it so much more comfortable.

Just go for it -- it's easy and great fun.

Cheers
Zj